Dera Ballan behind AAP’s defeat in Jalandhar: MLAs’ feedback to Bhagwant Mann

Rajmeet Singh

Chandigarh, June 11

Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann today asked party MLAs in the Jalandhar Lok Sabha segment to pull up their socks for the coming byelection in Jalandhar (West) and ensure that no stone was left unturned to win the bypoll.

He was chairing a meeting of MLAs from Jalandhar and Ludhiana, besides other party leaders, to get the feedback over the party’s recent drubbing. AAP had come third in Jalandhar where former CM and Congress candidate Charanjit Channi had won the poll.

AAP had faired badly, especially in the urban segments of Jalandhar- West, Central and North. The party MLAs are learnt to have told the CM that Dera Sachkhand Ballan followers in Jalandhar had voted enmasse for Congress candidate Charanjit Singh Channi.

The CM is learnt to have told the MLAs that it’s a matter of prestige to win the bypoll and he would camp there. In the 2023 bypoll, AAP candidate Sushil Rinku had got 3.04 lakh votes, whereas AAP got 2.08 lakh votes in the recently held poll in Jalandhar. After Rinku defected to the BJP, AAP gave the Jalandhar ticket to turncoat Pawan Kumar Tinu, who had left SAD. The CM reviewed the progress of development works in the constituency.

Yesterday, the CM had convened a meeting of the party MLAs from Amritsar and Fatehgarh Sahib. Three party MLAs from Amritsar (North) Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh, Amritsar (Central) Dr Ajay Gupta, and Amritsar (South)Dr Inderbir Singh Nijjar were absent.

In case of Ludhaiana, the MLAs are learnt to have told the CM that the Hindu vote got consolidated in favour of the BJP and the rural vote went to the Congress.